Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $9.3\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$142$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${9.3\%} \times {\$142} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $9.3\%$ is equivalent to $9.3 \div 100$ $9.3 \div 100 = 0.093$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.093$ $\times$ $$142$ = $$13.21$ You would pay $$13.21$ in sales tax.